Ocean Township

1. If you found this photoblog through a search engine, and you’re looking for a particular search term or image, try typing those keywords into the search box over in the right-hand sidebar of this blog (underneath the calendar). (over there –> )

A big trend nowadays on the Jersey Shore is using your car to proclaim that you’re a local (and not, heaven forbid, a benny) AND what town you’re from (in the manner long practiced by European countries). They make stickers like these for all of the shore towns, but these were the only ones I saw A) on parked cars B) while I had a camera handy.

Fireworks at Joe Palaia Park for the USA’s Independence Day! Viewed from a slightly distant supermarket parking lot with all kinds of trees and power lines in the way.* I had loads of company in that parking lot–many families threw little tailgate parties for the event. Due to the limited visibility, though, I heard sarcastic teenagers-who’d-been-dragged-along comments, like “OH MY GOD! THE FIREWORKS ARE AMAZING!” when the explosions didn’t quite clear the trees.

*Okay, technically, I was in the middle of a field that I probably shouldn’t have been in. Okay, technically technically I wasn’t in the middle– I was about 12′ away from the edge of Route 35. But I did park in that parking lot.

You may or may not be able to see, but this nightscape is full of FIREFLIES! (Or whatever you call them. I grew up calling ’em “lightning bugs” but slipped into calling them “fireflies” at some point. Either term is acceptable around here.)

Some of those fireflies might be the same ones, as this photo is actually a composite (of like 10 of the FOUR THOUSAND PHOTOS–okay, more like 40– that I took. I’ve been trying to photograph these guys for a few days now, but my camera’s longest shutter speed is 4 seconds [and highest decent ISO is 200], which… just wasn’t enough. Google confirmed that this is a supremely tricky task that’s virtually impossible with a shutter less than 60 seconds. So I gave up and cheated).

In Ocean Township, the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month are bulk trash day. This means that you can put your “bulk trash” (which is “large non-metal items”) out on the curbing the night before, and some nice trashpeople will come by in the morning and take it away for you.

This is, of course, fantastic, but there are certain weird rules that need to be followed.

For example, my family tried to get rid of some old tires. However, we could not put the tires out on the curb until we’d separated the rubber from the metal wheel. This is, unfortunately, a service that local shops will not provide for free. On top of THAT, the trashpeople are only allowed to take three tires at once. Three tires? THREE TIRES?! What on earth is the point of that?!

Anyway. This photo was just too cute to pass up. What sort of suburban residence has that many monitors to begin with?

If you can keep from feeling seasick from looking at this split-level diptych, you’ll note something a little different between the two white buildings (aside from the obvious seasonal difference). That’s right–the park FORMERLY known as Deal Test Site installed a [communications?] tower while I wasn’t looking. wtf.

On an unrelated note, dear readers, if you’re interested in a sneak peak of my own future… I’m going to grad school in Chicago (for medical illustration) in August, and there are already three Chicago Daily Photoblogs. What to do?! Answer: I’ve started a new semi-daily location-nonspecific photoblog [CLICKY CLICKY] (read: ANOTHER pointless photoblog clogging up the internet). It’s not officially “on the market” yet–I’m still tweaking it, and you won’t see it in my Blogger profile or listed in any photoblog directories–but I am posting things, if you’d like to check it out, bookmark it, and/or offer suggestions. 🙂